WELCOME TO YOUR DAILY NEWS DIGEST. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

Bradley Wiggins believes Victor Campenaerts will beat his Hour Record in 2019. Peter Sagan is frustrated by a lack of respect in the pro peloton, and may return to mountain-bike racing in 2022. The UniSA-Australia 2019 women’s squad has been named. Enve has announced a redesigned carbon fiber rim-brake road hub.

STORY OF THE DAY: Wiggins tips Campenaerts to beat Hour Record

While presenting Campanaerts as the “Cyclist of the Year” at the Kristallen Fiets (Crystal Bike), an annual event organized by the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Wiggins revealed that he’s been monitoring Campanaerts’ efforts on the track, and that he believes the Lotto rider can go over 55km in 60 minutes. Wiggins set the current UCI Hour Record at 54.526 kilometres on June 7, 2015.

Campanaerts tested himself against the clock for 30 minutes on the velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland, in September, reportedly averaging 54.8kph. He’s planning an Hour Record attempt at some point in 2019.

“I hope he breaks my record next year,” Wiggins said. “He is a good rider and a really nice person. It would be good for cycling if the attention around the Hour Record continues. It’s time the record is passed on to the next generation. That is healthy for the sport.”

Bradley Wiggins and Tom Boonen presented Victor Campenaerts as best cyclist of 2018 at the 27th Kristallen Fiets awards, an annual event organized by the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

Campenaerts won the Belgian and European time trial titles in 2018, and finished third at the world time-trial championship in Innsbruck, less than a second behind silver medalist Tom Dumoulin.

Nicky Degrendele, the 22-year-old Belgian world Keirin champion, was presented with the women’s award, taking it ahead of cyclocross world champion Sanne Cant and road star Jolien D’hoore.

The Crystal Bike awards are decided by a jury of 127 voters. The panel contains 51 journalists (writing press, audiovisual and new media) as well as members of the Belgian Cycling Federation. Greg Van Avermaet was the winner of the Crystal Bike Cyclist of the Year award for the last four years, an award otherwise dominated by Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert, and Sven Nys since 2004.

“I really did not see this coming,” Campenaerts said. “I’ve never had an idol, but if I have to name someone, it’s [Wiggins]. The Hour Record remains my big goal. It makes me proud that Wiggins believes in me and thinks I will break it. He had to say that here, for a Belgian audience, but still, it’s nice to hear.”

The Quick-Step Floors team took two awards at Kristallen Fiets. Patrick Lefevere was named Best Manager of 2018, after a season that saw the team win 76 races, and Tim Declercq was the recipient of the Best Domestique award, which has been won by a Quick-Step Floors rider every year since 2012. Talented junior Remco Evenepoel, who will make his pro debut with the team next year, went home with the Best Young Rider trophy, after winning both the junior road and time-trial titles in Innsbruck.

Race Radio

In a print interview with Pro Cycling magazine that was recently published in Dutch by Fiets Magazine, Peter Sagan lamented the lack of respect in the pro peloton, and suggested that he might return to mountain-bike racing after his current contract ends in 2021. Sagan was junior cross-country world champion in 2008, and raced the Olympic mountain-bike event in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Peter Sagan competed in the men’s cross-country event at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, though he punctured out of the lead group after the first lap.

Sagan, 28, will begin his tenth professional season next year, and said that in that time, he’s seen the sport change — and not for the better.

“It’s not like 15 years ago when Mario Cipollini was in charge,” Sagan said. “Often one rider was the captain of the entire peloton. That’s no longer the case. I think the respect in the peloton has disappeared. Everyone is only thinking about themselves. I have a few friends in the pack, real friends. I can have fun with them. But as far as the lack of respect is concerned, it gets worse every year. Sometimes it’s just a lot. I am glad that it only takes a few years for me. It is impossible for me to spend another fifteen years in this cycling world.”

Sagan’s contract with Bora-Hansgrohe runs through 2021. Bora press officer Gabriele Uboldi responded to Sagan’s comments, saying, “Every season requires a lot of energy from Peter. About 85 percent of the interviews he does, he finds boring. Peter now only thinks of his contract. When that commitment expires, he will decide whether he returns to mountain biking or whether he continues to race on the road.”

Sagan’s comments are consistent with what he’s said in the past. In November 2016, he told CyclingTips his career could perhaps last another “three, four, five, six years — I don’t know for how many.” He’s raced two more seasons since then, and is contracted for three more, but it’s growing clear the Slovakian has an eye on exiting the pro peloton at a relatively young age.

Australia names women’s team for summer racing

Australia will be stepping into the summer of racing with a women’s national team again in 2019, delivering development opportunities for up and comers as well as a chance for the seasoned riders whose teams aren’t making the trip out in January.

In its initial outing at Australia’s season starting races this year, the team played a pivotal role in launching Australian cyclist Brodie Chapman into the pro ranks.

Brodie Chapman, Stage 2, 2018 Women’s Herald Sun Tour.

Experienced players Lauren Kitchen (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Rachel Neylan (Movistar) will again be returning to mentor in the UniSA-Australia squad at the UCI 2.1 ranked Santos Women’s Tour Down Under. It’s then an intentionally varied bunch that have shown their promise on the track and road, that will fill the remaining four spots.

Rebecca Wiasak and Josie Talbot have both worn the rainbow jersey on the track. Also on the team is Emily Roper, who came second in Australia’s National Road Series, and 18 year-old Anya Louw, who represented Australia as a junior at Road Worlds.

The teams for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Women’s Herald Sun Tour will be announced later, with performances at Australia’s National Championships potentially set to shape the make up. The men’s UniSA-Australia team will be named next week.

TECH

Enve announces redesigned carbon fiber rim-brake road hubs

Enve has revamped its carbon fiber road hubs for 2019. They’re even lighter than before — claimed weight is now just 255g for the pair — the revised flange geometry is said to yield stronger and stiffer wheels thanks to improved bracing angles, and engagement speed is now a more responsive 9 degrees instead of the previous 20.

The driver design is based on sister company Mavic’s system, but Enve says it’s been heavily modified with aluminum instead of plastic parts, a more aggressively machined 7075 aluminum freehub body, and lower-friction stainless steel bearings that only use contact-type seals on the outer edges. There’s also a new “Perfect Preload” wave washer system that is claimed to maintain the correct amount of bearing preload regardless of quick-release clamp force.

Thankfully, the price has actually come down a bit relative to Enve’s original carbon fiber hubset, although they’re still awfully expensive at US$1,000 per pair. Enve will offer the new hubs as standalone bits for DIYers, or as an upgrade option for several of its complete wheelsets.

Moving Pictures

Ag2r-La Mondiale’s Christophe Riblon posted a funny video to Twitter showing a whole group of riders, himself included, wiping out on a trail covered with slick leaves.

10 years ago on CyclingTips

Throwing It In the Gutter
Posted on CyclingTips on December 8, 2008, was an article about how to form echelons. “If you have some nasty crosswinds at your disposal, there is one way to split up the group so that you can get rid of those riders just sitting on. Throw it in the gutter!”

Happy birthday to..

Spaniard Alberto Contador, a multiple-time winner of all the Grand Tours, turns 36 today. He took his first Grand Tour win at the 2007 Tour de France and his final Grand Tour win at the Giro d’Italia in 2015. In all he won nine Grand Tours, though two of those titles were removed due to a doping violation.

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